Tag Archives: handmade

Baby Sleep Sack

This one was a project in the works for a while. Barrett has a sleep sack that she will outgrown pretty soon. We have used it for a very long time, I love it to death, and she’s using a blanket in bed but more often than not she will stand up and then go back down to sleep, or wiggle out from under it, and I worry about her being warm enough. She isn’t yet understanding “I can pull a blanket on me to stay warm”.

I kind of agonized over how to make this. I only have the one sleep sack to use as a pattern, and this one needed to be bigger. I am not good at measuring people to get accurate measurements. My approach was to trace the smaller one on fabric, just a little taller and wider everywhere. The end result was a sleep sack that is long and wide enough, but just a little TOO wide in the shoulders. I had to do some creative gathering in the back to get the shoulder width back to something reasonable.
I adore this fabric and have enough left over that she may get pillow cases or maybe a little dress out of it, too.

Sleep sack lined with minky fabric.

For the record, I used pre-made bias tape on the neckline and arm holes. I had a very long fight with the sewing machine, trying to get the velcro to go on. The minky fabric is not very sewing machine footer friendly. There was a good amount of tangled thread and me exiting the craft room in a huff, trying to get this thing cranked out.

I thought this might be my go-to for shower gifts, until attaching the velcro part came up. Maybe I can find another liner to use around the opening.

Crafty Nap Times

I have an unending list of things to create. Since I will never have time to actually make everything that’s on that list (unless I quit my day job, which isn’t happening), I always feel like I don’t have enough time to craft. What is neat, is that I have been a little more efficient than I was pre-baby at getting crafty. My secret is this: take advantage of those nap times. When baby goes down, I get down to business.

This year I have made
- a little play quilt
- 20+ jars of jam
- animals and creatures made from wool felt
- beanbags
- colorful party garlands
- a Barrett banner
- washcloths (special made just for cleaning baby’s face)
- two bibs for a friend’s baby shower

I have also gotten back in the swing of cooking and baking more often. Allowing some of the social pressures to roll off my back has been very therapeutic. Stressful at times, because I do miss seeing my friends more often, but one of the biggest struggles for me continues to be finding that balance. By feeding my soul things I need to have such as sewing, cooking, baking, reading, gardening – I cultivate a love inside myself that is big and strong enough to share with others. If I put these things on the back burner, I risk feeling spread thin and running on low energy. Spending time with family and time in my craft zone is a necessity.